Though the same can’t be said of me, my father has always been a consummate knife connoisseur. He has constantly preached to me about Gerber knives and the quality that backs them. Upon handling their Crucial multitool for a few minutes, I saw the light (that was reflecting off the blade).

The Crucial features everything needed when well-utilized packing space is… crucial (no pun intended, well, maybe there was). The Crucial offers, along with a stand knife and pliers, a Phillips and flat-head screw driver, along with a bottle opener and carabiner clip for hooking the Crucial onto belt loops or inside of packs. What sets the Crucial apart from the countless multitools out there is its design; that’s what caught my attention when browsing for a new knife. “It functions like a multitool and carries like a pocketknife,” as the product description boldly states – and it really does. I was shocked at the product’s size when I first handled it, and more so at how well it holds everything in a compact, attractive design with safety locks on everything. The Gerber Crucial may not include some of the superfluous features of its higher-priced brethren, but it does include everything that is “crucial” to not only outdoor enthusiasts, but even to anyone who is looking for an excellent multitool in a compact design.